Never too early: Identifying 49ers' needs in 2018 NFL draft

New general manager John Lynch’s 49ers scouts began scouring the college football landscape at the start of its season in late August for prospects to continue reshaping the roster. Lynch, of course, inherited a 2-14 team and turned over more than half the roster from last season.

So why shouldn’t we look at the team’s needs in the upcoming NFL draft in April? After watching training camp, the preseason and three regular season games, we don’t have a complete sample to draw from. But we certainly have enough to get a good feel of which direction the roster is headed.

Here are five positions the 49ers, as of now, could afford to add upgrades in the 2018 NFL draft…

Interior offensive line

The guard and center spots have struggled early in the season without 2016 first-round pick Joshua Garnett, who will miss his second year after suffering a knee injury early in training camp.

(Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)

It only took one game for the 49ers to bench Garnett’s replacement, Zane Beadles, in favor of newcomer Laken Tomlinson. The Lions drafted Tomlinson in the first round in 2015 but dealt him to San Francisco in August after he lost his starting job. He’s signed through 2018.

Meanwhile, center Daniel Kilgore is playing through the last year of his contract while right guard Brandon Fusco signed a one-year deal in the spring.

Outside of Garnett, who remains an unknown commodity in Kyle Shanahan’s outsize zone system, the 49ers lack interior linemen to build around – whether or not they re-sign Kilgore and Fusco. They could use reinforcements.

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